By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-09 02:43:22 | Updated at 2026-09-09 03:38:55
1 hour ago
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due at the White House on Sept. 24 for a state visit hosted by President Donald Trump.
In the weeks beforehand, recruiters working through Chinese-language group chats have been offering people free flights, hotel rooms, meals, and in one case $80 in cash to stand along the route with a flag.
Screenshots of those solicitations, obtained by The Epoch Times, describe an arrangement with three consistent features.
Costs are covered by the Chinese embassy and affiliated business groups; participation is presented as flag-waving hospitality rather than political work; and recruiting happens privately, in group chats and phone calls rather than public announcements.
Dissidents say that combination raises questions under federal laws governing people who act for foreign governments on U.S. soil.
‘Raise the Flag’
One screenshot from a WeChat group says the event runs Sept. 22 to Sept. 26, is paid for by “the Chinese embassy and business associations,” and includes free airfare, food, and lodging.
A second message, signed by a chamber of commerce whose full name was withheld, recruits under the banner of “raising the flag in welcome,” promising covered meals, accommodation, and transportation plus a one-time $80 payment described as a “labor fee.”
Anyone under 70 may take part, and spots are allotted first come, first served.
The Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times reported last week that a recruiter known as Sister Xia had been canvassing community groups in Los Angeles with a similar offer, and confirmed the arrangement by phone, saying she had signed up more than 40 people.
A message circulating alongside the notice warned that U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies were likely taking note of the event, and joked that after inflation, $80 was “too low”—suggesting the money was being skimmed on its way down.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
A Vice Consul Calls
The recruiting is not confined to group chats.
A Chinese vice consul came to the hall of one community association in person in recent days and asked the group to join what he called the welcome event for “General Secretary Xi,” a figure at the association told The Epoch Times, speaking on condition of anonymity out of concern for retaliation.
The group declined; it is a century-old member of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the Chinatown umbrella body that stayed firmly anti-communist after 1949.
A Chinese man in Los Angeles who also asked not to be named, citing his fear of reprisal, described a quieter version of the same approach.
Several years ago, when Xi visited San Francisco, a Southern California hometown association for people with roots in Taishan, Guangdong, sent a contingent to greet him.
He is a member and knew nothing in advance—he found out when photos from the scene and from a celebratory banquet appeared in the group chat.
Organizers keep these efforts out of open forums and approach specific people privately, he said, to make sure nothing goes wrong on the day.
A 2023 Rerun
Commenters circulating the notices said the crowds serve a purpose beyond decoration: when the motorcade passes, massed red flags, human walls, and loudspeakers cover the banners and chants of protesters, so the visiting leader sees and hears nothing.
At the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November 2023, more than 100 U.S. rights groups organized protests against Xi.
The Epoch Times reported at the time that greeters flown in from across the country received hundreds of dollars along with all-expenses-paid trips arranged through Chinese consulates.
A joint report by the Hong Kong Democracy Council and Students for a Free Tibet later counted 34 cases of harassment, intimidation, and assault against protesters over Xi’s four days in the city, and the two groups urged the Justice Department to investigate whether Chinese united front organizations were operating as unregistered foreign agents.
What the Law Says
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires anyone acting as an agent of a foreign government to register with the Justice Department and disclose the relationship, the activity, and the funding.
A separate criminal statute makes it an offense to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government, under its direction, without notifying the Attorney General first.
Jie Lijian, chairman of the China Democracy Party International Alliance, told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times that paying no cash does not settle the question, because covering airfare, hotels, and meals is compensation in practical terms.
Organizing people for political activity on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) instructions without notifying the department is already a violation, he said, adding that he has turned screenshots and addresses over to federal agents.
Jie, an outspoken critic of Beijing, was beaten unconscious in Flushing, New York, in July by three Asian men who followed him as he walked to a bus stop.
Recruiters this year also ask participants to hand over identification.
Jie said that puts them at risk, since national ID numbers, passports, or U.S. driver’s licenses collected now could later be used to threaten exposure of their political activity or to pressure relatives in China.
He expects the money to work the way it did three years ago, when participants were promised $400 a day and got far less by the time it reached them.
Jie said he is watching to see whether the groups that ran the last operation turn up at all.
“Organizations like hometown associations that work for the CCP are very scared,” Jie said, adding that leaders once happy to be photographed at these events may stay away this time “because they’re genuinely afraid.”
Cai Rong contributed to this report.
